Criminal Justice

This bill requires virtual currency businesses (like exchanges or wallet services) operating in the state to hold a valid license. It prohibits unlicensed operations and imposes escalating criminal penalties based on the value of transactions: misdemeanors for basic violations, and felonies (ranging from class E to class C) for unlicensed activities involving $25,000+ in 30 days or $250,000+ yearly, with higher thresholds triggering more severe penalties. The law directly affects anyone conducting virtual currency transactions without state authorization, establishing clear financial thresholds that determine the severity of criminal charges.

Establishes the crime of interference with constitutional rights by public officials when, acting under color of law, such public official by force or threat of force, or by intimidation or coercion, recklessly engages in conduct which injures, intimidates, interferes with, or attempts to injure, intimidate, or interfere with another person in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured by the constitution or laws of the United States; or the constitution or laws of the state of New York; provides such offense is a class A misdemeanor which elevates if bodily injury occurs.

Enacts the "pretrial risk overview for threat evaluation, custody, and treatment (PROTECT) Act" to evaluate certain defendants; establishes a risk assessment instrument to aid judges in determining whether to release or detain a principal, where and when a release is appropriate and necessary conditions that should be imposed as part of such release; repeals provisions of law relating to qualifying offenses and allows a court to set bail or remand a principal where based on the risk assessment instrument, where the principal poses a safety risk or risk of flight; makes related provisions.

Requires that following the acquittal after trial or the sentencing of any defendant for a felony, the district attorney, or their designee, shall provide by mail, electronically, or by any other reasonable and secure means of written communication a written summary of the disposition of such felony to any victim who was not present at the time that the defendant was sentenced or acquitted after trial.

This bill requires health insurance plans and Medicaid to cover inpatient and outpatient substance abuse treatment for a minimum of 45 days. It directly affects individuals seeking treatment for substance use disorders by mandating that insurers cannot impose stricter financial limits or treatment restrictions on these services than they do for general medical care. Key provisions include prohibiting extra costs or prior authorization requirements for substance treatment that are more restrictive than those applied to other medical benefits. The law applies to all comprehensive insurance policies and Medicaid plans, ensuring coverage for detoxification, rehabilitation, and medically necessary residential care without arbitrary time limits.

Requires each county to establish a county law enforcement civilian complaint review board to assist the board of supervisors with the investigation of complaints concerning misconduct by members of county law enforcement towards members of the public in a complete, thorough and impartial manner.

Provides a tiered penalty structure for the reckless operation of electric personal mobility devices including fines, confiscation of the device and potential misdemeanor charges; provides penalties for the illegal modification of electric personal mobility devices.

Requires the timely disclosure of video footage or audio recordings related to the death of incarcerated individuals involving correction officers or peace officers to the attorney general's office of special investigations (Part A); relates to establishing comprehensive camera coverage for covered facilities and covered vehicles; repeals certain provisions of the correction law relating to requiring institutions and local correctional facilities to adhere to certain standards regarding the camera coverage of incarcerated individuals and detainees, and access to such camera recordings (Part B); clarifies standards for next of kin notifications where an incarcerated individual dies in custody (Part C); relates to the time within which the state commission of correction shall issue a report to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly of the findings of a study on deaths in state correctional facilities within the state of New York (Part D); provides access to microscopic slides upon request for certain autopsies (Part E); intentionally omitted (Part F); relates to data on substantiated, unfounded, and unsubstantiated allegations received by the office of special investigations required to be collected and reported by the commissioner of corrections and community supervision (Part G); relates to the state commission of correction; provides for the manner of confirmation of such members; relates to the effectiveness of such provisions (Part H); authorizes the correctional association to visit correctional facilities with twenty-four hours advance notice and grants the correctional association access to certain records and information of correctional facilities (Part I); provides that with respect to state action brought by anyone to recover damages for physical, psychological, or other injury or condition suffered while in state custody, the time in which such action must commence shall be extended to two years after such person is released from such custody (Part J).

This bill (S 9064) adds intentional damage to authorized emergency vehicles (like police cars, ambulances, or fire trucks) to the list of actions that constitute "criminal mischief in the third degree" under New York law. It directly affects individuals who intentionally damage such vehicles, making this act a class E felony. The key provision amends the penal law to explicitly include emergency vehicles under the third-degree criminal mischief definition, which previously covered other property damage scenarios. This change clarifies that damaging emergency vehicles - critical for public safety - will face the same legal consequences as other significant property destruction under this specific charge.

This bill raises the minimum daily fee for temporary court interpreters from $25 to $110. It requires town and village courts to cover any compensation exceeding $110 per day for these interpreters. The bill also mandates that courts appoint certified interpreters for deaf or hard of hearing individuals in legal proceedings, with temporary appointments allowed only if certified interpreters aren't immediately available. These changes apply to all courts handling legal cases involving deaf or hard of hearing people.